Integrates climate change into 55 courses, seeks regional adoption

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) will, today, host the 20+1 edition of the UNILAG carnival at the institution’s sports centre.

The yearly event, themed “Humanity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI),” will be presented by students of the Department of Theatre Arts and Film Studies as part of the African/Caribbean Theatre Laboratory course.

According to the organisers, this year’s carnival will bring together the cultures of Africa, Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Trinidad & Tobago.

In another development, UNILAG has integrated climate change education into 55 academic courses across 12 faculties, with the institution moving to extend the model to universities across the South-West region as part of efforts to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills to address environmental challenges in their professions.

The productions are designed to celebrate cultural heritage from the African continent and the Caribbean Diaspora, while simultaneously interrogating the evolving relationship between humanity and AI.

The carnival has been staged for more than two decades as a practical component of the Department’s curriculum.

Under the leadership of Dr Cornelius Eze Onyekaba, it has become one of Nigeria’s leading university cultural festivals.

The course is structured to give students hands-on experience beyond the classroom. Over the years, participants have taken responsibility for leadership, logistics, production planning, stage management, costuming, choreography, and project coordination.

The carnival, therefore, functions both as a performance platform and as a training ground for students to develop skills required for large-scale arts and event management.

The organisers said this year’s edition would reflect the same model of collaboration and experiential learning that has defined the carnival since its inception.

A major focus of this year’s preparations has been the work of the logistics team, whose behind-the-scenes coordination has been instrumental in bringing the event together.

Their responsibilities have included venue preparation, movement of materials, technical setup, crowd management, and liaison with various departments within the university to ensure the smooth delivery of the production.

The choice of theme signals a shift in the carnival’s focus to contemporary global conversations.

While previous editions have centred primarily on cultural display, dance, music and drama from African and Caribbean traditions, this edition will explore how technological advancement, particularly AI, is reshaping human identity, creativity, labour, and cultural expression.

The performances are expected to blend traditional forms with new media elements to reflect that dialogue.

In another development, UNILAG has integrated climate change education into 55 academic courses across 12 faculties, with the institution moving to extend the model to universities across the South-West region as part of efforts to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills to address environmental challenges in their professions.

Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, said the initiative was a response to the growing impact of climate change on Nigeria and other countries in the Global South, stressing that universities must work together to drive climate literacy and shape national responses.

She stated this during the Inter-University Dialogue on Climate Curriculum Development, themed “Scaling Climate Literacy-An Inter-University Dialogue for Curriculum Transformation in Southwest Nigeria.”

The dialogue, which was organised by the Institute of Nigeria-China Development Studies (INCDS)-UNILAG, in partnership with Pulitzer Centre, had 10 universities represented to scale climate literacy.